Creating dance

Amanda Card talks about her research with Martin del Amo on Anatomy of an Afternoon which was part of a project funded by Critical Path's Responsive Programme. The intent of Martin’s research was to expand and challenge his choreographic process by using a historical source as stimulation as well as experimenting with the transference of his particular choreographic framework onto another dancer.

Martin del Amo talks to Matthew Day about the influence of Vaslav Nijinski in relation to Anatomy of an Afternoon: the thwarting of desire and expectation; the utility of stillness; and the centrality of the quotidian and the animal.

Dancer Kristina Chan reflects on Martin del Amo's choreography and Paul White's performance in Anatomy of an Afternoon. For her the work was a clear and self-effacing exploration of a journey with a creature-like being.

Designer, curator and scholar of contemporary dance, Justine explores two aspects of the performative event of Anatomy of an Afternoon by Martin del Amo. One has to do with its placing; what happens when the avant garde moves to inhabit big ‘C’ cultural institutions. The other concerns its timing; how can work that has entered the canon of the historical avant garde retain newness and experimentation, the power to startle or even shock, in present-day reinterpretation.

Only one Australian choreographer has produced a body of work for a mainstream audience over such a substantial period. Graeme, with his associate, Janet Vernon, have made and staged dance that makes audiences laugh and cry, think about ourselves and others, ponder the unique business of being Australian and look beyond into worlds overseas, consider the past and the present.

This essay overviews Sela Kiek's study into Western tourist practices and explains how this research informed her creative strategies for Circulate (2004), a site-specific movement piece that responded to the Hawthorn Town Hall, Melbourne.

Bree Hadley (QUT) delves into Lucy Guerin's intentions and choreography as Lucy attempts to make "the tangle of data, information and desire that circulates through contemporary communication technologies...tangible on stage" in her 2005 award-winning work titled Aether.

This paper explores a large-scale international project, Accented Body, which involved partnerships across the arts industry, the tertiary sector, government and philanthropic organisations.

Secondary school dance teacher, Lynettte Haines talks about the dance program at Golden Grove High School in Adelaide, and the work they made for their exciting Asian tour.

This information is intended as a guide for teachers or arts workers in an educational context who are presenting a dance or theatre production for the first time.